Training Log Archive: levitin

Brown course, in a light drizzle. I almost wanted to bag it, but then it subsided a bit, so I went out and got soaked to the skin anyway. Most of the swamps and ponds were quite dry, but recognizable by their vegetation and the color of the earth.

I exulted late in the course when I had a control *within* the uncrossable marsh, which was quite dry compared to how it must normally be. Approaching the control, I heard and felt the familiar squish, squunch as my feet went into the spongy moss. At the finish, I heartily thanked Peter, the course setter, for providing the familiar Pawtuckaway experience: wet shoes, wet socks, wet feet. Yes, now my day was complete.

For those who know me and expect a fair bit of sarcasm, this bit was not sarcastic or facetious at all. I genuinely had a smile on my face from succeeding in spite of the drizzle and the chill.

Event: UNO Pawtuckaway Camping Weekend
 

Wow. I did an entire advanced course in the daytime at Pawtuckawy without harboring any homicidal thoughts. I walked almost the entire course, carefully checking positions, pace counting, etc, still managed to get mislocated a couple of times, where I had a hard time relocating.

Turns out, one control where I bumbled around in the circle was hung on the wrong boulder.

A bit more noodling around in the afternoon, without a map this time. I thought I went past the boulder where the girls had pounced on the punch, but I didn't see the control. I hoped to see other orienteers paddling furiously, but they were not within sight.

Afterward, both hip flexors were extremely sore and cramping.

Just a little noodling around early to see if the foot brace was set right.

Pawtuckaway canoe-O, score-O, solo in my canoe. I was overly optimistic about my speed on the return from the most distant point; I thought I could finish in 15' from the farthest point, but I was 11 minutes over the 1 hour limit. At one point, some girls were playing in ankle deep water near one control where there was flagging tape but no punch. I asked if they'd seen a punch, one replied, "Yes, we thought it was litter." I said, no, we're having a race, and I need it. So I reattached the punch to a branch and did not count the approx. 2 minutes I idled while she we who-only-knows where to find the "litter".

There must be an unwritten rule, that we arrive at Pawtuckaway later than we plan no matter what time we set out. Traffic near Lowell messed me up dropping Jonathan off at a friend's house, so I arrived at the park as the sun was going down. Managed to find the SP crew, then Lex/Pete, then a campsite, and get the tent up before it was pitch black.

Talbot Trails, Westboro, around Lake Chauncy. Good power up the hills, even found an unmapped trail connecting two sections of the map. Slammed one shin against the pedal Yow.